A photographer came within snapping distance of a five-foot Great White shark while dangling his camera over a shark cage in southern Australia.

Commercial abalone diver Luke Thom, 26, caught the moment with his camera off the coast of the Neptune Islands.

Stunning pictures have captured the moment the shark came within inches of his hand as he tried to get the best shot.

The incredible images show the curious 16-foot-long predator emerging from the water and swimming over to check out the photographer's camera which he was dangling in the water.

Other striking shots show the fearsome 3,000lb beast show its razor-sharp teeth as it bites onto the corner of a metal cage.

The shark was estimated to weigh in at 3,000lb (Image: Mediadrumimages / Luke Thom)

It revealed its razor-sharp teeth as it bit onto the corner of a metal cage (Image: Mediadrumimages / Luke Thom)

Luke Thom said: "I was watching Andrew Fox taking these incredible photos of Great White sharks so I thought I'd try to get a shot of him getting his photo because of how close he gets to them with the fish-eye camera.

"I see a story and a moment in the photo. It's not like watching a video. You can look at a photo and imagine what is going on.